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Mallory Weggemann in Berlin, with Ambassador John B. Emerson (2015)

Mallory Weggemann (born March 26, 1989) is an American Paralympic swimmer.

Career

She became a T10-complete paraplegic after an epidural injection to treat post-shingles back pain in 2008.[4][5][6] She broke many world records in the S7 classification, and won multiple gold medals at the IPC Swimming World Championships in 2009 and 2010.[7] At the 2012 Paralympics, she was controversially reclassified to S8, a class for swimmers with less impairment.[6][8] She won the S8 50 metre freestyle event in a new Paralympic record time.[9]

Just under four months after becoming paralyzed Mallory was back in the pool, with her eyes on gold at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Having achieved that goal, she decided it was time to chase her dream, to walk again. For years, this was something that was deemed impossible, but a new possibility arose and in order to achieve her goal, Mallory reached out to the public to ask for their support through a crowd funding Indiegogo campaign. On November 16, 2013, Mallory was able to "walk" again for the first time in nearly six years, with the aid of customized leg braces and forearm crutches.[10] Although Mallory's wheelchair will never be replaced by her braces and crutches, they have allowed her to have short moments of upright mobility.[citation needed]

Weggemann trained for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and actively building upon her career outside of the pool through motivational speaking. Mallory was featured in "The Current," a documentary produced by Make A Hero, a non-profit organization focused on inspiring individuals with disabilities to enjoy the freedom of adaptive sports.[11]

In June 2021 the US announced the 34 Paralympic swimmers who would be going to the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo. The women's team was Weggemann, Jessica Long, McKenzie Coan, Rebecca Meyers and Elizabeth Marks.[12] Weggmann would go on to win several medals and break two records during the Tokyo Games.[13]

On April 14, 2022, Weggemann was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships.[14]

Honors and awards

Personal life

She lives in Eagan, Minnesota.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c "IPC infostradasports: Mallory Weggemann". Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Team USA: Mallory Weggemann
  3. ^ "Mallory Weggeman: Turning the odds, in and out of the pool". American Public Media. October 2, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  4. ^ "Athlete swimming to greatness after paralysis". CNN. August 21, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  5. ^ Paralympic swimmer Mallory Weggemann sets US record Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b "Paralympics: Mallory Weggemann shocked by classification change". BBC Sport. Retrieved February 4, 2013. I'm a T10 complete paraplegic, I have no feeling or movement from my belly button down and I'm competing against people who are bi-lateral double amputees below the knee, who have, from below the knee up, full function.
  7. ^ "2010 IPC Swimming World Championships: Recaps and Results". Swimmers World Magazine. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  8. ^ "The thin line: Paralympic classification causes controversy". CNN. August 31, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  9. ^ "2012 London Paralympics: Mallory Weggemann Earns Redemption With Gold Medal After Reclassification". Swimming World Magazine. September 2, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  10. ^ "Paralympic star Mallory Weggemann walks for second time". BBC Sport. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  11. ^ "Mallory Weggemann Shares Inspiring Story with the Today Show". NBC. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  12. ^ "United States name 34 swimmers on Tokyo 2020 Paralympic team". www.insidethegames.biz. June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  13. ^ "Former Swimmer Wins Gold at Paralympics". Gardner-Webb University. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  14. ^ Gowdy, Kristen (April 14, 2022). "U.S. Paralympics Swimming Nominates 25 athletes to World Championship Roster". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.

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